As The Sun Rises
by Signora Ted
Summary: Mal and Zoe remembered her. She was the one that made up their old war trio. She was one of their best friends. She was thought dead. And after all those years, they hadn't forgotten her. Mal/Oc
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: I'm not abandoning my other stories yadayadayda. Just finished watching Firefly and Serenity again. Inspiration hit, not going to miss my chance. I won't ramble. This is set before the film. Actually, I don't think I'll use the plot of the film at all.**_

_**Disclaimer: Don't own Firefly or Serenity but I wish I owned Mal. Fortunately, I've found another series I can worship Nathan Fillion in. Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk!**_

_  
>"You better be gettin' out of here Lil'! Zhùyì nǐ de bèi!"<br>She barely heard him over the loud explosions and gun shots piercing her ears.  
>"Mal! I can't just leave-"<br>"You're wounded! Get out of here before I drag you away!"  
>She shut up. She didn't have the energy to argue. Clenching her rifle with her right hand and pressing against her gun shot wound in her side with her left, she got out of her crouching position and groaned from the pain.<br>"If you don't get out of this in one piece, there'll be hell Malcolm Reynolds!"  
>And with that, she left him behind the mass of rocks and boulders, shooting at the incoming Alliance troops.<br>"I better see you again Mal. Otherwise my life wasn't worth saving."_

Captain Malcolm Reynolds was having an interesting day.It was far from the usual to say the least. Himself and his crew of petty thieves had once again found themselves on Persephone, stocking fuel, rations and stopping at the local pub.

"Don't get yourselves too drunken up now. We got job huntin' to do." Mal said as he sat down at a rounded table, Zoe following his actions.

"How 'bout whorin'? We got time for that?"

Mal sent Jayne a glare as the mercenary sat down beside the two friends, grumbling something about Mal's lack of humour. They had an hour or two to relax while Simon and Kaylee re-stocked on medical supplies and other necessities. Whether or not they'd relax was another story. It was Unification Day. The pub they had chosen was Alliance filled, just like the one himself, Zoe and Jayne had stumbled into last year. It was bound to end in blood and broken bones.

"What's goin' on over there?" Mal heard Jayne growl.

The captain followed Jayne's gaze to the bar counter. The was a women, dressed in tanned trousers, an off white coloured shirt, a black leather vest like Zoe's brown one and hanging from her shoulders down to her knees, was a brown coat. Her back was turned to the small group and she was being yelled at by someone. Someone who supported the Alliance no doubt.

"Ha! Look at you, parading around here. On Unification Day and everything! You got some nerve mǔgǒu."

"What's wrong with my parading? I was on the losing side, wasn't I? You're makin' as much sense as a cow matin' with a pig."

Mal watched as the women got slapped across the face. It looked as though it had hurt. The man was wearing sharp rings. Nobody does that to a fellow Brown Coat on his watch.

"Zoe," he whispered.

"Already on it sir. This seems to have become an annual thing of ours."

They both smirked as they got up from their seats and walked over to the argument.

"Sorry to be botherin' sir but we don't want you causin' any folk problems here."

The man eyed Zoe viciously and then looked to Mal. Both were standing behind the female Brown Coat.

"I ain't botherin' folk. I'm merely puttin' gǒupì in its place."

Mal rolled his eyes and stepped forward in front of the women.

"Please, don't try to insult us. You'll only end up with a broken nose."

"Wha-"

Mal threw a right handed punch at the man, causing him to be thrown backwards into a table, smashing glasses and making alcohol fly everywhere. Alliance supporters soon joined in, in the brawl with Zoe, Mal and the mystery Brown Coat throwing punches and kicks front and centre. Over the roaring and yelling, Mal barely heard Jayne laughing as he watched the bar fight with amusement. _Damn Jayne_, Mal thought as he dodged a blow to the chin.

"Jayne!" he yelled over the commotion. "Give us a hand will you?"

But it was no use. Within 10 minutes, Zoe, Mal, the mysterious Brown Coat _and_ Jayne were all sore and had, at some stage, been turfed out of the pub. They were lucky the Alliance didn't come at them with guns.

"Well," Mal sighed, getting off the ground and patting down his pants for dust. "That was exciting. Now, shall we go get Simon and Kaylee?"

He turned around to see Jayne examining his arm and Zoe staring in shock at the Brown Coat who had been awfully quiet. And then he realised why Zoe was in shock. It was the first time he got the chance to see the women's face.  
>Her skin tone was tanned from too much exposure to the sun and her features were sharp, somewhat beautiful. But the beauty was scarred. Literally. From the left corner of her mouth to the soft skin under her eyebrow was a thick white scar. It gave her an un-nerving grin that was lopsided. Her brown pixie cut hair-style made her look even more petite but the gun she had in her holster made a completely different point altogether. It was her eyes that sparked Mal's recognition. Nobody else had that odd violet tint to the colour in their eyes. She was one of a kind. She could only be one person.<p>

"Lily Neil, I never thought I'd ever see you again!" Zoe exclaimed and ran for a rough hug from the small women.

Mal stood, his mouth gapping while Jayne lifted and eyebrow and snorted. It couldn't be her. There was no way it could be her. She was dead. They found her blood absolutely plastered to the wall of one of the bunkers. There was no way she could've survive all that blood loss.

"Zoe," the women whisper into the first mate's hair. "I can't believe I found you."

"Hold on a second!" Mal erupted. "There is no way you could've survive that blood loss! Maybe if you had left when I told you to...But not then!"

The huge grin that had been smeared across Zoe's face sunk into a frown as she released her friend.

"Mal, we just found our presumed dead best friend and all you do is give out? Get some gorram sense into you!"

Zoe's lecturing was interrupted by a break out of laughter. Both Mal and Zoe looked back at Lily. She was doubled over laughing, tears nearly streaming down her face. Mal looked at Zoe and gave her an expression that said 'that one's gone mad' and then they both looked back at their friend who was developing a normal breathing pattern. Jayne stood by quietly, not sure what to make of the situation.

"You've got some queer friends Mal. This one'd get along well enough with that crazy nut job we got aboard our ship."

"Jayne, shut up!"

"Well Malcolm Reynolds," Lily sighed, bring everyone's attention back to her. "You certainly haven't changed from the jackass I once knew."

_**A/N: So dudes, that's chapter one of this. My first Firefly story so please be gentle. I got the Chinese from google translate so apologies if any if it's wrong. Please review and let me know what you think. :)**_  
><em><br>__**Translations:  
><strong>__Zhùyì nǐ de bèi – Watch your back  
>mǔgǒu - bitch<br>gǒupì - shit_


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Cheers for the reviews lads. I know not everyone likes the way that there's someone sharing Mal and Zoe's really strong friendship but their friendship will still be a lot more stronger than the friendship with Lily 'cos Mal and Zoe were still together for those years after the war.  
>Disclaimer: If I owned Firefly or Serenity, Wash wouldn't have died. I loved that man more than Zoe did.<strong>_

He glared. He glared and he didn't know why. But then of course, he remembered. Before she got shot down, himself and Lily had a fight. Lily wasn't someone you'd want to anger. Then again, neither was Mal. He could get pissed.

_"Stop being so ridiculous, Mal. You have no problem with Zoe goin' out there!"_

_"That's because she ain't tiny like you!"_

_"Stop being size-ist!"_

_"I'm ain't being-. Size-ist? Just give it up. You ain't going out. Stay here and help with the wounded."_

_She was fuming. That bastard. How dare he try control her._

_"Malcolm Reynolds, whether you like it or not, I'm going out with ya'll, as I have a right to."_

  
>He was still annoyed. He had told her to stay. If she had stayed, she probably would've been with him and Zoe on Serenity that very moment. But no. She was stubborn.<p>

"Your problem with me is? Well Serg?"

Mal glowered at the young women. She was making fun of him. Teasing him for caring so much. He cared about all his crew. Especially his friends.

"I don't have a problem," he said, a fake grin spread across his face. "Do I look like I have a problem? Wait. Don't answer that."

His com bleeped and Kaylee's enthusiastic voice boomed out.

"Hey cap'n! Me and Simon are ready now! We brought the stuff back to the ship on the mule so no help needed with that."

"We'll be back in a few, Kaylee. Just gotta take care of somethin'."

Lily raised her eyes to meet Mal's. Her eyes were pleading with him. Told him she needed his help.

"What's it you're wantin' Lily? We've gotta be off soon."

Lily looked from Mal to Zoe and then stole a quick glance at Jayne. She sighed.

"I've been lookin' for a ship 'nd crew for a mighty while now Mal. I'd appreciate if you could use an extra hand."

Zoe's grin reappeared and she walked over to her captain.

"Sir, she's a friend. An old friend in need. You gotta let her come."

He thought about it. The amount of trouble she'd cause him. She was a handful as it was, back during the war. But then again, she would liven up the place. Kaylee would love her and River would babble away to her.  
>He was going to regret this. This will either be the best or worst decision he had ever made.<p>

"Fine. But you're on cooking duty. You were the only one who could  
>make protein excitin'. Hope you 'aven't lost your flair."<p>

His old friend grinned. It was only then she actually acknowledged Jayne. She stared at him, earning a freaked out look from the big man.

"I ain't kiddin' when I say you've got odd friends cap'n. This one's mighty odd."

"Jayne," Mal said, his voice almost telling Jayne it was a warning. He held up his hands in defence and looked strangely at Lily.

"Well, I don't rightly want to stay on this rock so can we go now? Doesn't seem like we're welcome in that pub." She said to no one in particular.

"And who's fault is that?" Mal countered.

"Yours."

"How the hell-"

Mal threw his hands up in the air in frustration to be silenced by Zoe's stare.

"Sir, we betta be on our way. She's right. We ain't welcome here."

And so, Mal shut up. He gave up trying to talk to Lily, gave up trying to be civilised around her. He'd just embarrass himself.  
>They found the ship on the outskirts of the town with Kaylee sitting out in her sun-chair reading a magazine. Lily smiled at her. She reminded her of her own young self. Before the war. Before what happened after the war. Before the ordeals she went through.<p>

"Hiya cap'n!" she exclaimed, putting down the magazine. "We all ready to-"

She paused when she laid her eyes on Lily.

"Someone new cap'n?"

Mal sighed deeply and ran a hand threw his hair, turning around to look at Lily.

"No questions Kaylee," he said, turning back to the young engineer. "I'll answer them with the rest of the crew."

Kaylee pouted, got up out of her chair and folded it, putting it under her arm while she carried it and the magazine back into the ship. When they entered the cargo hold, Lily couldn't help but beam at Mal. Of course he'd get a ship with personality. Can't have some boring piece of metal. No, not Mal.  
>Lily stayed quiet as Mal and Zoe lead her and Jayne through the ship to the kitchen and seating area. She didn't want to anger Mal.<p>

"And who do we have here, Mal?"

One of the most beautiful women Lily had ever seen stepped through the door to the kitchen. She was dressed in a plain v-neck peach coloured dress with a cream shawl wrapped around her arms and her black curly hair was in ringlets reaching just below her shoulders. Her eyes, Lily thought, were the most dazzling orbs she had ever seen. She was filled with jealousy.

"Inara, you mind fetching the rest of the crew up here for a meeting?" Mal said, smirking when he saw the look of amazement on Lily's face.

The companion nodded, stole a glance at Lily and walked off. Within a few minutes of Lily keeping her normally huge mouth closed, Mal leaning against the counter tapping his foot and Zoe staring at Lily, the group piled through the door, Jayne at the head. He must have gone to help that women round them up, Lily thought.

"If you'll all sit down for a moment," Mal said, staring at River until she paid attention and sat down on the floor. "I want to introduce someone who'll be...joining our...crew."

Kaylee's face lit up with excitement and the Shepard smiled, happy to be gaining a new friend.

"This is- ah, never mind. Lily, you do the honours."

She gave Mal a nervous look and stepped forward.

"Uh. Hi. I'm Lily Neil. Eh, I was in the war with Mal and Zoe but, uh, disappeared for a bit."

Simon's eyebrows furrowed together.

"Where were you?"

She sighed. She sighed and her gaze hovered over to Mal.

"I was...captured and...tortured."

Mal didn't gasp with everyone else. His eyes opened wide and he stared in shock at Lily. All she did was try to smile.

_**A/N: Shitty chapter. Sorry about that. Please review :)**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! Cheers to The Exterminator, RionaEire and Nelle07 for the reviews. And thanks to everyone else for the alerts and favourites! And so, here is chapter 3!**_

_The pain was beyond anything Lily had ever felt. The rusted dagger was pushed into her face, piercing the skin near her lip and was dragged in a loop to her eye. The blood gushed out. The dagger cut so deep it hit her cheek bone. She knew then, she would never be beautiful again._

"Tortured? By who? How? Why?" Zoe demanded, hold Lily's arms firmly as she shook her.

"The Alliance had people. I don't really want to talk about it. But that's where I've been."

Mal could see that just thinking about it was hard for her. Whoever tortured her most certainly gave her that scar. Whoever tortured her would get a scar just like it if Mal got his hands on them. Only they wouldn't survive to feel the humiliation of having their face destroyed.  
>The rest of the crew looked worried. They were already caring about her. She had that effect on people.<p>

"Right, well. If someone could show Lily to a room, that'd be nice. I've got..uh..captain stuff to do."

When he left the room, River bounced off her seat on the ground and appeared at Lily's side.

"I'll look after you." She said, her eyes wide and blank.

Lily wasn't sure what to make of River. The girl looked deranged. But she seemed nice.

"Thanks. What's you're name?" she asked as she followed the younger girl through the ship.

"I'm River Tam. I like to dance."

Lily continued to follow River until they arrived at a room that had a ladder at the entrance.

"Here's a room for you flower."

Lily looked at the girl, puzzled. Flower?

"Your name is Lily." River said, stating the obvious. "Lily is a flower. You're a flower. But you've yet to blossom. Your leaves are still closed up."

Lily opened her mouth and closed it before she said anything and furrowed her eyebrows.

"I'm going to go now. If your leaves open up, the sun will heal you. Try it."

The young girl turned and disappeared down the hallways leaving a very confused Lily at the entrance to her room. What the hell was that about? How did she know I questioned her when she called me flower? Weird...

Over the next few weeks, nothing escaped Lily's attention. She noticed the way Zoe would squeeze Wash's hand to reassure him, how Simon would place a gentle hand on River's shoulder in a brotherly fashion, how Kaylee would steal a prolonged, longing glance at Simon as he continued on in his work. She also noticed how Mal was avoiding her.

"Hey Mal-"

"Be back in a minute!"

And he wouldn't come back. He'd 'forget' and busy himself elsewhere. This had happened before. A long time ago.

"_Mal?"_

"_Hm?"_

"_Why are you avoiding me?"_

_He looked at her from his position on the base's bashed up couch and swung his left leg back around from resting on the arm rest._

"_Why would I be avoidin' you? What gave you that idea?" _

_She narrowed her eyes at him and let out a sigh of frustration. He knew damn well why he was avoiding her._

"_You've been ignoring and avoiding me for that last three weeks and to be honest, I'd like to know exactly why. What did I do wrong that's upset yea Mal?"_

_Mal stared at the floor. He was avoiding her. She had upset him. Whether or not he was about to admit it, he had no idea but she had pushed him too far this time._

"_How's Johnny, Lil'? You know that guy you've been seein' twenty-four-seven instead of being with your friends? Is he really that special that you pass us off as nothing? Or are you forgettin' that we're the ones you're fighting with; the ones you've spent sleepless nights with and the ones who care more about _you _than getting a good night with yea? Eh? He ain't good for you Lily and we can see how you're changing."_

_She stood in front of him and pulled him up off the couch by his suspenders. There was a short distance between their faces and as Mal had a wide eyed, confused look across his face, Lily was frowning and glaring straight at him._

"_Don't you dare say that, Mal. You've no idea what's going on."_

"_Well maybe if you spoke to us we'd have a small idea! You gotta open up to us Lil'! You can't get through this war on your own."_

Yes. Last time he had been upset with her. Johnny, wasn't it? The guy she snuck away to see to find out about her sister. She hadn't been sleeping with him, hell no. But there was no way she would have told Mal and Zoe about her sister back then though. During the war, that is. There were too many untrustworthy people around and the topic was much too touchy to talk about with Alliance troops snooping around.

What could she have done this time though? Was it simply because she was back? Had she known she'd have a nonexistent relationship with Mal in the first place she would've left after the first day and just said hi to Zoe.  
>Zoe. That's who she'd have to talk to about it.<p>

She sought Zoe out in her personal quarters, the day after she had had enough of Mal's avoiding. She knocked on the door and waiting until she heard a yell, beckoning her to come inside.

"What's up, Lil'?" the dark haired woman said as Lily came in.

"It's about the Captain."

Zoe rolled her eyes, knowingly and smiled as she shook her head. She sat down on her bed and motioned Lily to sit beside her.

"I knew this was coming. He's been sticking out like a very sore thumb with the way he's been actin'. I swear, that man doesn't know half the things we notice."

Lily raised an eyebrow at her old friend and waited for her to continue.

"Simon's been asking me 'bout it too. And Shepherd Book."

"But what did I do wrong this time? I understand last time he was upset with me but I had my reasons and I can explain myself now but what did I do _this_ time?"

"I'm not certain," Zoe began, frowning. "He reacted strangely when you first arrived. Like he resented you or something. I think it's about him being stubborn. You know how he is, won't give in without a fight. He's probably trying to convince himself that he's doing the right thing by ignoring you as punishment for not stayin' that time during the war. I think deep down, he's hurting 'cos we thought you were dead and you know how protective he was of you. You were like his little sister. Then all of a sudden you're gone and he blamed himself for not being stubborn enough with you.  
>He was miserable when you vanished. He didn't admit it but he was really, really hurting inside and he tried to blame himself. I wasn't there to change his mind either at the time 'cos I had been over at the other base. Me and you were his best friends back then and he lived with the guilt of you being gone until I came back and lectured him about it. I was miserable too, Lily, but I knew how to handle it. You were the first close friend he lost in the war; he was bound to handle it badly."<p>

Lily stared at Zoe blankly for two minutes, trying to soak in the information. She hadn't realised. However, she _had_ been a little preoccupied at the time to even think about how her disappearance had affected Mal and Zoe but even now, she never would have thought it would have affected them. She thought she was just another soldier gone.

Oh god, she thought, her face paling and her eyes widening.

"He blamed _himself?_" she exclaimed to Zoe. "That stupid,_ stupid _man! And this is what he's sulking over now? I've gotta go talk to him, Zoe. Maybe give him a smack on the head while I'm at it."

Zoe laughed as she watched Lily hop up off the bed and go for the door.

"If you don't hear back from me in an hour or two, be worried." She joked, closing the door behind her.

Now, to find the Captain.

_**A/N: Sorry for the long wait! Been up to my eyes in exam work and study and never mind being very sick. *sigh* But next is a little Mal confrontation which should be 'fun'. Also, I'm really trying to keep everyone in character and stay true to everything Joss created so if I've done anything wrong please point it out. Oh and River was extremely hard to even write one sentence of dialogue for. Guh. Anyway, review please and I'll try update soon!**_


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